


i know hiding only made it worse

by hannieks



Series: klance oneshots [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, its cute and i hate how sappy it is, like intensely flirting boys in space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 15:24:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14191941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannieks/pseuds/hannieks
Summary: Keith is pretty sure friends don’t call other friends gorgeous without an inside joke.Or is it just another thing that Lance understands and literally nobody else does?





	i know hiding only made it worse

**Author's Note:**

> for chloe! i am so sorry it’s this late, this hasn’t been as wellness written bc i was rushing and i hate it sorryyyyyyyyy  
> i write best in lance’s pov imo, so i’m not sure how well keith portrays exactly what he’s doing to lance lmao. i think in this situation he’d be too worried thinking about not saying something wrong to actually register that he’s flirting back with lance, and leaving him a lovesick mess also.  
> enjoy!

Keith didn’t have the same grasp on human emotion as his teammates. He knew it, and worked hard to reach their level of empathy.

Still, his current situation perplexed him.

Lance was famously a huge flirt, annoyingly so, and his honeypot skills got them out of a few tight spots in missions. Keith would never be able to pull off the same level of persuasion as him, even if it were to get them out of danger’s path.

Despite all this, he hadn’t ever seriously flirted with anyone on the ship, besides Allura. His crush on the princess had faded into familial love in the eighteen months they’d been in space, and it was rare to see him dropping pick up lines on her, even if it was to boost her mood.

(Lance’s positivity, even in the depths of intergalactic war, was another of the hundreds of reasons Keith loved him so much.)

But since he’d started using his charms on Keith, he was constantly three seconds away from spontaneously combusting into shards of flustered paladin.

  
The feelings weren’t new. Ever since he had to carry an unconscious, bleeding Lance into a healing pod after the battle with Sendak, his voice rasping we are a good team over and over in Keith’s mind, he was done for.

Keith couldn’t rationally excuse every wink, innuendo, or sultry glance he was given, but not for lack of trying. He’d spent sleepless nights staring at his bedroom ceiling with that day’s memories of Lance spinning through his mind, searching for any explanation.

  
Every time he shut his eyes his mind cursed him with the repeated images of Lance, and because his brain was fucking stupid it usually descended into the kinds of thoughts that left him muttering curses in an ice cold shower.

If Lance’s goal was to get Keith to fall impossibly deeper in love then he’d passed with flying colours. Not a minute went by where he wasn’t thinking about him.

Lance was a friendly dude - he’d seen the way he embraced Hunk - but Keith had always been their exception. They’d never even hugged, he couldn’t suddenly be so touchy-feely, even after their rivalry had fizzled out.

Anyway. Keith had nothing more than a crush on Lance. A life ruining, heart destroying crush, but still just a crush.

  
…

 

 _Fuck_. He was an awful liar. Shiro often said it was a miracle that Keith had spilled the beans to him only.

  
Which was why he’d tried so hard to keep interaction with Lance to a minimum, to put space between himself and one of his few weaknesses. It was war - trivial things like romance should be kept quiet until the universe was freed.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. (It was one of Allura’s favourite lecture starters, but that stuck with him. Maybe because she was repeating it to Lance and Pidge so much.)

Keith didn’t know how much longer he could go on with the amount of affection Lance was giving him.

Perhaps the most infuriating part of it all was that, even though it meant nothing to Lance, he could make Keith blush past his shirt collar with no effort whatsoever. It was probably why he spent so much time kicking the shit out of training bots these days, instead of spending his nights laying in bed with a pounding heart and an unrequited crush.

\---

  
Keith had his revelation during one of the team’s movie nights, as he sat through two on-screen Alteans flirting ceaselessly for hours.

If he just mirrored Lance, he’d be left in peace. If he let the crush get any deeper he’d venture into dangerous levels of closeness with him.

It had been over a year, but he supposed it was difficult to undo eighteen years of repressed emotion on a charmless ship.

He’d be like that Olkarian cube, and mirror Lance until he won.

(In retrospect, he was pretty sure the reason why he was being so stupid was due to uneven blood distribution.)

—-

Keith sighed, phasing away his bayard and placing it next to him onto the couch. He’d hidden himself in a room that was maybe once an observation room, maybe a lounge, but nowadays stood as a frozen piece of history.

Keith leaned back on the ivory cushion to stare up at the stars, feeling smaller than a speck of cosmic dust compared to the vastness of the galaxy before him.

Gods, his life was bonkers. Somewhere, in another universe, he must’ve been the main character in some broody anime. He checked all the boxes: orphan, lovestruck, fighting evil, _alien_.

It was then that it happened - the one thing he’d gone to such lengths to avoid.

Briefly, Keith wondered if it was possible for someone’s heart to rise and sink simultaneously.

The door whooshed open, lazily quick footsteps coming closer, closer, and-

"Hey there, hot stuff." Lance drawled, vaulting over the back of the couch so he could sit besides Keith, smirking in the way that left his stomach swirling with reluctant excitement.

(Keith would never admit it, but all the attention was nice.)

He hoped that he could explain away the why his core body temperature had risen by about half a degree in the time Lance was in close proximity to him. If he looked in a mirror he surely must’ve had steam coming out of his ears.

He fought down a blush, but it was a war against himself and he had shoddy defence. When he checked his reflection in the glass of the window, his cheeks were stained pink.

Still, Keith was the impulsive one of the team. Well. That, or Lance’s voice had short circuited something important. 

He leaned close to Lance, until their lips were inches apart, and grinned as mischievously as he could.

It had the intended effect. Keith would never forget the shade of scarlet Lance went, or the way his _gorgeous_ eyes widened, or the sputtering that followed.

Seconds passed. Keith decided to follow his impulse again, biting his lip. “Cat got your tongue, _hot stuff?”_

And because their relationship was entirely built on one upping the other, Lance took the opportunity to just grin wider and throw himself dramatically onto Keith’s lap.

He actually felt his brain functionality fall to that of a bread bin. Keith was only able to concentrate on the weight of who must’ve been the hottest person in the universe as he fought with all his might to keep his entire blood supply _away from his dick._

Keith hated him, every fibre of his stupid beautiful body, but he couldn’t bring himself to shove the dead weight off.

Maybe words would work?

"How did you find me?"

Could someone shut him up? Or if not, hurl him out of the nearest airlock? 

His voice box must be cursed for it to create so many awkward, bordering on awful situations.

He sounded defensive, instead of inquisitive and perhaps slightly playful like he'd intended, but nope! The universe screwed him over once again!

Lance disentangled himself from his lap - a feat given how long and alluring his legs were - and perched across from him, grinning like the human shitpost that he always would be.

"I followed your gorgeous, brooding emo-ness into this corner."

  
“ _You_ -“

The alarms chose that exact moment to blare, and on instinct he sprinted to the control deck like the flames of hell were at his heels - only to find it was a drill.

When he turned to leave after Allura’s little speech, Lance was nowhere to be seen.

(In hindsight, Keith was certain Pidge had activated the alarm just to stop the bad puns flooding her surveillance. That, or she’d gotten in the vents again.)

—-

Okay. Forgive him if he was wrong, but he was pretty sure that friends didn’t call other friends "gorgeous" without some sort of inside joke.

Keith didn’t get it, couldn’t even remember his name around him, but still he trailed after him like a lost kitten, begging for more.

\---

It was Hunk that eventually told Keith what was going on, that Lance knew about Keith’s affection and that he _really shouldn’t be mad, Keith where are you going no come back!_

Understandably, he was ready to stab someone.

_—-_

"How did you find out?" His voice was cold, unwavering, and at the way Lance flinched scary too.

Keith sent a silent plea to the universe to open some hidden trapdoor and space him, preferably before he dissolved into an humiliated puddle.

Lance stared at his hands, eyes shining. “I thought you... liked this sort of thing, I-“

  
_“What possessed you to try and play me like this?”_

Lance fell silent.

He sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “Just go and find some pretty alien to flirt with instead of me-“

“You actually think I’m not serious?”

The question rang through the air, and it took him a solid ten seconds to process it before he stepped back, fighting the pink threatening to permanently stain his cheeks.

“Well- I- Uh-“ Keith cleared his throat. “But why did you do it... like this?”

Lance’s frown twitched into a sheepish smile. “Remember three planets ago, when we got hammered on that alien wine?”

“I wasn’t there.”

He wasn’t there, because he was terrified if he went anywhere near alcohol his level of control on his secrets would drop about three hundred percent. Turned out he didn’t even need to.

  
Lance’s expression flooded with understanding, then humour. His laugh managed to draw fuzzies out of Keith’s cold heart even now.

"Shiro told me about your obsession with romantic gestures as a kid about halfway through sobbing about how much he missed ice cream."

  
Fucking shit. Keith was actually going to kill him when he gets his hands on him, familial connection be damned.

He opened his eyes again, and found Lance snickering at the positively murderous expression he must have been wearing.

As usual, Keith was still a little confused. “Why did you start flirting, though?”

“I asked Pidge-“

“Pidge?” He parroted, voice flat.

“Shut up, mullet! She said you’d always go pink when I flirted, so I thought I’d try it, and I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk to you recently I should’ve asked first, ugh-“

“Lance.”

“-and you’re probably disgusted with me now and that’s fine, that’s fine because I know flirting you the way I did was awful and-“

“Lance.”

“-I completely understand if you wanna punch me, or get Allura to punch me, and I should’ve listened to Hunk he said this was a bad idea and he’s always right-“

“Lance!”

He finally shut up, eyes shiny, glaring at his feet with enough regret in his gaze to burn through his shoes.

The sight somehow comforted Keith. He found it easier to confess to his crush when he wasn’t being a total incubus and more of a teenager, believe it or not.

It took all his courage and more to not stumble over his words. “You didn’t need to. You’ve had me since that mission with Sendak.”

  
All noise dropped out of the room like some sound-exclusive airlock had opened. He couldn’t hear much over his heartbeat, but he swore he heard Lance’s breath hitch.

Another few seconds passed without any movement. Keith forced himself to make eye contact despite the fear rushing through his veins. If he’d fucked this up they’d leave him, and he couldn’t be alone anymore-

“Really?”

Lance’s face is so elated, so excited, and he was wrapped up in a tight hug before his mind could get his legs to work.

“Buddy, I’ve liked you since before this whole war thing.” he whisper-yelled into his neck, and it’d be hot if he wasn’t saying-

“Don’t ever say ‘buddy’ to my face again.”

“What, you prefer ‘baby’?”

Lance’s tone was heart stopping, and Keith realised he’d accidentally returned confident Lance. Shit.

“Or maybe sweetheart?”

“Shut up!” He chided himself for sounding more like a teenage girl in a movie than a war hardened warrior, face flushing.

The joking tone leaves Lance when he mumbles, “Then… boyfriend?”

Somehow there was a little more courage left in him. He’d be totally drained by the next mission. “any of the three is definitely fine.”

Lance’s resulting squeal was loud enough to make Keith’s ears hurt, but he was tackled onto the bed before he could dwell on it by his tall and gorgeous boyfriend.

Heh. Boyfriend.

Keith was so screwed, he thought as he gazed down into cobalt blue eyes, really screwed.

So much so that his brain decided to acknowledge it out loud, too.

"Fuck."

Lance’s goofy grin descended into a smirk devilish enough to make Zarkon wary, and he rolled over so they’re on his sides, facing one another.

"Already?” His tone is teasing, but there’s a hint of truth in it. “Take me out to dinner first, at least..."

Keith was either dreaming or dead, in hell, with only his instinct remaining and this stupidly handsome incubus-

"That could be arranged, if you want."

Who said that? Was it him? Holy fuck, he finally one upped the master of terrible puns and it felt amazing.

Lance's eyes darken and Keith had no idea what he did right, so he did what he did best and said what he was thinking. If it worked for battle, it’d work here.

Not like it made much difference what he was saying. Keith's heart was left to the whims of a man with one very attractive smirk. That smirk that had probably killed him.

  
"Kiss me."

Anything but that was probably better. He was back from the dead. He was back, and endlessly thanking his instinct for not fucking everything up in three seconds flat, because now Lance was kissing him.

Lance was... kissing him?

Yeah, he was pretty sure that climbing into someone's lap and pressing their mouth to that someone's mouth was classified as kissing.

He tasted like everything Keith imagined him to be, but simultaneously like nothing he ever experienced. Any embarrassing squeak threatening to leave his throat was thankfully drowned out by the force of it all.

He could get used to this.

Lance shifted impossibly closer, and the smallest of moans left his lips before they break apart for air. “You okay?”

And his heart broke, because Lance was so fucking kind it hurt.

Keith hadn’t been more okay with an idea since Hunk had suggested stopping by a planet famous for its fast food.

 

**Author's Note:**

> yes i looked up keith’s fave food in the handbook. don’t judge me.  
> if you enjoyed pls leave feedback! tell me how i did with keith’s characterisation bc idk how well i did…  
> catch me on twitter @samuraiklance


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